HALA BIRA! Revelry in Kalibo

WE take pride in being the sole Christian nation in Asia. Christianity pervades the many facets of our lives and is manifested in our names, beliefs, customs and traditions, and festivities.

When it comes to festivities, Filipinos never cease to amaze foreigners and their fellow Filipinos alike.

Year in and year out, we never seem to run out of reasons to indulge in merrymaking. After the Christmas and New Year celebrations, one needs to count the days only with the fingers before another festivity erupts. January seems to be a prelude to the never-ending season of revelry in the Philippines.

But what stands out in the merry month of January is the Ati-atihan festival held in Kalibo, a town in Aklan province situated on the northeastern portion of Panay Island. Local and foreign tourists flock to this town not just to witness but also to participate in a festival truly beguiling in sight and sound.

The Ati-atihan is rooted in a religious and historical context. This colorful mardi gras is an annual celebration commemorating the purchase of Panay from the Ati people (Negritos) by 10 Bornean datus who landed on the island in 1212 A.D.

According to the book "Maragtas" written by Pedro A. Monteclaro in 1907, the Bornean datus and their followers left North Borneo (known as Sabah today) to escape the despotic rule of their sultan. After days of sailing, they reached the island ruled by an Ati king, Marikudo.

The datus offered to acquire the low land where their settlements could be built. Marikudo, his wife and their followers agreed to sell. In concluding the agreement, the Atis and the Borneans partook of a sumptuous feast replete with native songs and dances, after which Marikudo and his people bid the Borneans goodbye and settled in their new homes in the mountains.

In 1581, Kalibo was founded. Its name is derived from sang ka libo, or 1,000, the number of natives baptized in a single day by a missionary during the Feast of St. John the Baptist.

The feast of the saint, however, is overwhelmed by the Ati-atihan, which is a paean to the Santo Niño, the town's patron saint. Despite the riotous character of the festival, it is actually ensconced in religion as its theme is the devotion to the Santo Niño, the oldest Christian image in our country.

The Santo Niño is believed to have saved Kalibo from Moro raiders in the 17th century. Artillerymen repulsed the raid with the battle cry "Hala bira (Hit them)!" Gunpowder smoke blackened their faces, and they emerged from the fighting looking like the dark-skinned Atis.

The battle was capped with victorious shouts of "Viva Santo Niño!"

The same battle cry and victorious shouts still reverberate through the air during the Ati-atihan, which was first staged in the early 1980s.

The Ati-atihan begins six days before the feast of the Santo Niño. But preparations are made as early as November, mainly through the concerted efforts of the townsfolk of Kalibo. At this stage, themes, programs, costumes and choreography are planned.

Then the big day-or, aptly, the big week-comes. Depending on where one stays in Kalibo during the occasion, the revelry will not be hard to miss because it is concentrated in the streets within the periphery of the church and its plaza. Besides, the rhythmic and deafening beat of drums can be heard from afar, beckoning everyone to join in the fun.

Participants cum revelers gather in groups, each with its own set of costumes, motif and brass band. Each group, usually a clan, socio-civic organization, club, or school, among others, is identified by the costume and its name emblazoned on streamers that members carry during the parade.

The groups take different routes, so it is common to see one encountering another coming from the opposite direction along narrow, banner-strewn streets. One group gives way to the other, yet the soot-covered bodies in elaborate costumes seem to mingle, thus creating a spectacular fusion of colors while bands play in loud crescendo.

The musical repertoire? Nothing fancy, with the pieces ranging from the ageless "Hawaii Five-O" theme to Ricky Martin's latest chart-buster, so long as the beat stimulates dancing despite one's tired, aching feet.

The passing of the years brought about changes-say improvements in the costumes. Tribal costumes are still the "in" thing, but other, even bizarre, creations have become acceptable as well. One can just imagine the modernity injected into the festival through the masks and costumes, which can rival those seen in upscale Halloween gatherings. Even the images of the Santo Niño, which are held aloft during the parade, are decked out in costumes similar to those worn by the revelers carrying them.

No one can be a mere spectator during the festivity. Bystanders cannot but be drawn into the mix of revelers as the bands do their thing. Townsfolk use the term sadsad, or dancing while walking, in enticing others to join the revelry. Audience participation is what adds to the spectacle.

While the main participants are soot-covered and elaborately dressed, some spectators agree to have their faces painted. The daring ones allow their bodies to be transformed into human canvases and works of art. For the rest, a stripe or two of soot or even neon colors on the face are enough.

The raucous quality of the festival may be attributed to the adrenaline flowing. But it is also probably intensified by the beer booths installed in almost every street along the parade route.

Even before noon, intoxicated revelers are a usual sight (but they seem sufficiently sober to complete a few dance steps). Surprisingly, no acts of violence seem to break out. It's the merriment that holds sway.

The culmination of the Ati-atihan is the feast of the Santo Niño itself, the third Sunday of January.

The day begins with Masses in the Kalibo Cathedral. Then another round of street dancing and general revelry erupts. It lasts until the afternoon, complementing the procession of the images of the Santo Niño dressed in various costumes and motifs and borne by elegantly decorated carrozas (carriages).

The carrozas are mostly owned and maintained by the families who have planted their roots in Kalibo.

When the tail end of the procession reaches the cathedral toward the evening, it conveys the message that the festivities are about to end. People start to enter the church for the patapak, a ritual where a palm-size image of the Santo Niño is held by a lay minister and, as prayers are uttered, rubbed on the part of a person's body that needs healing.

The streets of Kalibo gradually subside into silence as the exhausted but gratified revelers retire for the night.

It was an exhilarating experience for my family to have taken part in the festival last year. We were thankful that our clan, from both the Kimpo and Quimpo sides, managed to organize a grand reunion-attended by relatives from abroad-in the town where we trace our origins and coinciding with such an event as the Ati-atihan.

The sheer size of our clan enabled us to have one of the biggest contingents, contributing to the overflowing number of revelers. It was a doubly rewarding experience for us, one that made our visit truly worth remembering.

(After a week of seemingly endless revelry, what better and practical way to relax, recharge and make the most of one's stay in Aklan than to travel northwest to the province's, or perhaps the country's, great attraction, Boracay? But that, of course, makes an entirely different story.)